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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Very behind this week. Lots going on IRL that I don't really want to get into, but I'm going to try & just get some catching up done tonight & tomorrow. I'm going to admit I may drop out of sight again for a while, I'm just not sure how this is going to go so I'm going to post while I can.

I split the haul & the swatches each into their own vids again this time. Here is the haul:

& here are the swatches:

& for the bottle pics I kind of broke everything up by brand, regardless of where or when I purchased ... these are all from quite a while ago, I think I recorded the haul vid like 2 weeks ago & the swatches one week ago LOL. So here we go.

Icing ... I went overboard at 2 different Icing stores. I got 4 different 5-packs of mini bottles - although Icing's minis are pretty decent size compared to for example OPI, at .4 fl oz - but then again, normal Icing bottles are bigger than many brands at .65 fl oz:

So yeah, a pretty big haul. I thought my no-buy following this would last longer - but I forgot how early holiday collections come out. I spied the China Glaze Let it Snow collection when I hit Sallys today for cuticle oil, and ... well ... I'm sure you can guess. Another haul post in my future =) But not before I edit & post NOTDs for the past week!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

I feel like Halloween is a holiday that I'm almost obligated to do extra-crazy nail art =) & so what better excuse to bust out the googly-eyes? My base for this marble was 2 coats of OPI Calling All Goddesses!, marbling done with CaG, OPI Ti-Tan Your Toga & China Glaze Ingrid:

The black I used for the "mask" section was just Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme. I'm sure there are other places you can run across googly-eyes than where I got them too, you just have to keep an eye out =) I did manage to smudge a few nails on my right hand but I corrected them as best I could.

Here's the tutorial:

Only about week until Halloween! Except I don't know if that's enough time to fit in all my ideas ... probably not LOL, a few of the ones I've already done this year have been waiting since last year =)

I originally saw OPI's Halloween Spookette mini set at Ulta, convinced myself I didn't need it - and then changed my mind LOL. Of course by that time I couldn't find any, so I ended up ordering it from Amazon, which was OK because it was a little cheaper than it would have been in-store, even after shipping charges.

This is the first of OPI's glow in the dark polishes I've tried - unsurprisingly it's pretty sheer, I started with a white base & then did 3 coats of Zom-Body to Love (which put a serious dent in the mini bottle LOL) to get this color green - stamping is done with Black special polish & Bundle Monster image plate bm224:

Although it's a pumpkin, from certain angles I keep swearing it's a skull head =) Of course, if you're a photographer you know shooting in low light or the dark can be a challenge, but I managed to get a couple of pretty decent shots of it glowing for you - it doesn't stay this bright for long, but it sure is fun while it lasts:

I was going to do a video, but for whatever reason my camera refused to cooperate, it was no where near that bright in video mode so I ended up skipping it.

I've read that all of OPI's glow in the dark polish, regardless of color, glows green - the set of Icing glows that I recently picked up & will show in my next haul, actually glow the color of the polish, so I'm looking forward to showing you guys those as well =)

Friday, October 21, 2011

I try to do at least one manicure every year for Depression Awareness Month. I think a lot of people still don't know about it, and just getting the word out there can do so much. This year I did another water marble, like last year. Base color is Ulta Limelight, marbling done with Limelight & Nubar Forest:

Thursday, October 20, 2011

The other TOTD I have to show you is what's still on my toes - Nubar Cherry Cordial:

It's actually got a few chips, so I'd like to change it - but sandal season is officially gone LOL, so I'm not in a huge hurry any more either, since I'm the only one who'll see them for the next 6-8 months.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Love! I mean, true polish love, this is the most awesome thing in the world to me right now LOL - Nails Inc Houses of Parliament Magnetic Effect Polish:

The final effect really is almost 3D & changes as you move your hand, I HAD to include a vid of this polish in motion:

I mention in the swatch vid that I think it would be easier on shorter nails, so I do have a few favorites that I feel the design showed up best on - right thumb & ring, left thumb & ring:

I will be getting some backup bottles of these lovelies - and/or possibly splurging on more colors from other brands ... once I'm off my no-buy again. I hung in for like 3 weeks this time before I fell off the wagon, and I'll try to get up tomorrow the mega-haul that made me cut myself off again LOL.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I wanted to get a full post with pictures done today for Nails Inc Houses of Parliament, which is on my nails, but the sun had the nerve to go away mid-afternoon so I'm going to do that tomorrow. This polish definitely deserves to be seen in the sun & the 3D effect deserves to be seen in motion =)

But until then, you can have a quick look at these swatches & check out the magnetic pattern in motion since I used the magnet from the back of the nail wheel - which, as a side note, I don't think gives as nice of a final effect as using the magnet over the top, but it's cool to be able to actually see the polish move around:

Have you indulged? Or plan to? I thought at first I could pass on the gold but with it on my nails I not only want the gold, as I mention in the vid I want backup bottles of the purple & silver.

Overall I'm pretty happy, although I have a tendency to pick apart my freehand art. This one, the biggest mystery is that my right hand seems to have turned out better than my left somehow! Maybe because I am even more careful when I'm painting with my off-hand?

Tutorial:

I know I said last post I wasn't going to tease about what I had coming tomorrow but I can't help it ... I went & got the Nails Inc magnetic polish at Sephora! & I am very excited to try it =)